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Johnson and Zelenskyy had ‘harrowing’ talk as Russia’s invasion began, ally recalls

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:23:44 GMT

LONDON — “I just hope this is not the last time you and I speak,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on the night Russia invaded Ukraine, according to a former Johnson aide. Speaking on a Global podcast about the turbulent final months of Johnson’s premiership, the former prime minister’s then-director of communications Guto Harri said Johnson and the Ukrainian leader had an “extraordinary bond” and shared “dark gallows humor.” “For the first few weeks, even months actually, Boris and Volodymyr, as he called him — they were both on first name terms — would speak every day, sometimes more than that,” Harri said. Johnson became a firm ally of Zelenskyy following the invasion, as the then-prime minister was a leading voice calling for the West to support Kyiv. Johnson has continued to champion the Ukrainian cause since leaving office. Recounting the night Russia launched its full-...

Russia faces highest labor shortage since 1996, survey shows

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:23:44 GMT

Russia has recorded its worst labor shortage since President Vladimir Putin first came to power amid Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, a new survey has shown.The poll by Russia’s Yegor Gaidar Institute for Economic Policy, which surveys managers of around 1,000 industrial enterprises in the country each month, found in April that 35 percent of enterprises lacked workers. The institute said that was the highest figure since 1996.The shortage was partly down to Russia’s “partial mobilization” of its population starting from September last year, according to the institute.Russian outlet RBC reported Thursday that Sergey Tsukhlo, the institute’s head of business surveys, told a conference where he presented the findings that understaffing in the country represented “a deep and long-term problem” that was holding back the country’s industrial growth.The shortages were most stark in lighter industry and mechanical engineering, Tsukhlo said. And ...

Russia unsuccessfully hammers Ukraine again with missile barrage

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:23:44 GMT

KYIV — Ukrainian air defense reported shooting down 29 of 30 Russian rockets on Thursday morning, as the Kremlin delivered a new onslaught of cruise missiles.It was the seventh massive missile attack carried out by Russia since the beginning of May. It has bombed all corners of Ukraine — including the rarely targeted Western regions. All the Russian missiles aimed at Kyiv on Thursday were shot down, thanks to Ukraine’s high-end air defense systems. Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klitschko reported two blasts and a fire, likely caused by falling missile debris. “There are currently no casualties at the sites of debris fall in the Darnytskyi and Dnipro districts. There have been no appeals to doctors yet,” Klitschko said. In Ukraine’s western region of Khmelnytskyi a Russian missile hit an infrastructure facility, the local council reported. No casualties were reported.The barrages come as military analysts say Ukraine is gearing up to launch a counteroffensive aimed...

Food delivery driver alerts residents to fire in Danvers mobile home park

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:23:44 GMT

A food delivery driver is being credited with alerting residents of a Danvers mobile home park to a fire that broke out in one of the homes late Wednesday night.A woman who was delivering food on Newbury Street said the people she delivered to didn’t get their order so she went back, called 911 and banged on the windows of the home to make sure everyone got out safely.No additional information was immediately available.This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.

Nice Rebound

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:23:44 GMT

Brrrrr…. no doubt about it, we’re off to a cold start on the Thursday morning with temperatures between 28-32 for many locations. It is late is the season to get this cold, so hopefully the plants/flowers you protected last night made it through without a problem. If you brought some flowers or plants in, you can put them back outside today, as the freezing air will be behind us and not showing up again tonight. As frost and freezes begin the day for many, so does a lot of sunshine and that sunshine will warm us up quite nicely. Highs top off in the mid 60s with sunny skies winning out. It’s sneaky sunburn weather for sure as the air doesn’t feel that hot, but the UV is high this time of year as it’s all about the sun angle. So sunscreen it up if you’re outside a lot around midday. The wind will be lighter too. Tomorrow the breeze picks back up, but it’s out of the south, so it’ll be milder too with highs in the 60s and 70s, warmest ne...

Taylor Swift fans line up in the cold for merch ahead of Gillette Stadium concerts

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:23:44 GMT

A crowd of Taylor Swift superfans lined up in the cold for ‘The Eras Tour’ merchandise related to her upcoming concerts at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro.Wrapped in blankets as temperatures tumbled overnight the fans and concertgoers lined up to get the merchandise, which is set to officially go on sale at 10 a.m.Town officials are letting area residents know to stay away from the stadium as the concerts are underway to ensure a safe and secure event for those who have tickets.This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.

Battenfeld: Rachael Rollins exit an example of bad judgement by Biden, Elizabeth Warren

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:23:44 GMT

Thanks, Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey.Can’t wait to find out who you recommend next to be U.S. Attorney. Is Monica Cannon Grant available?Warren and Markey should be held accountable for giving our state U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins, a call that has spectacularly flamed out and stands as one of the worst appointments Joe Biden has ever made.Even after Rollins – at the time the Suffolk District Attorney – harassed a motorist in a parking lot and pulled a nutty on a TV reporter outside her home, Markey and Warren still thought it would be great to promote her to the Justice Department’s top Massachusetts law enforcement post.The two Massachusetts senators put out a statement on Wednesday calling the Rollins reports “deeply troubling” and agreeing with her decision to resign.But the reality is they should have known that Rollins would be a disaster. There were plenty of warning signs.Rollins is resigning in disgrace on Friday amid damning dual reports by the Department of Justice Ins...

Ravens’ Odafe Oweh using last season’s struggles as motivation in ‘critically important’ third year

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:23:44 GMT

David Ojabo is sick of talking about last year. The Ravens outside linebacker fell to the second round of the draft after tearing his Achilles tendon during his pro day at Michigan, didn’t make his debut until Week 14 and played just three games.Odafe Oweh — Ojabo’s friend and former high school teammate from New Jersey — looks at last season differently, though.“I never forget,” he said during the Ravens’ voluntary “football school” on Wednesday. “I use it as motivation.“As a competitor, you remember things that you’ve gotta work on, that you missed on so you can bounce back the next year.”The Ravens could use the bounce back.Despite a dominant training camp last summer, the 6-foot-5, 251-pound outside linebacker who the Ravens spent a first-round draft pick on in 2021 saw his production drop from five sacks as a rookie to three in 2022.It wasn’t just getting to the quarterback where he struggled, e...

‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’ debuts Thursday at the Cannes Film Festival

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:23:44 GMT

CANNES, France (AP) — Indiana Jones and Harrison Ford will swing into Cannes on Thursday for the world premiere of “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” in one of the most anticipated events of the French Riviera festival.Ford, who has said “Dial of Destiny” will be his last performance as the character, is also set to receive an honorary Palme d’Or from the Cannes Film Festival. Last year, Cannes feted “Top Gun Maverick” and Tom Cruise in a similar manner. It’s not the first “Indiana Jones” film to premiere in Cannes. The fourth installment, “Indiana and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” launched at the 2008 edition of the festival. Critics and fans alike dismissed “Crystal Skull” as a misjudged sequel, though it still made $790 million worldwide. This time, “Dial of Destiny” is hoping to make a similar if not larger global impact without its famous filmmakers. The new film, which the Walt Disney Co. will release June 30 in the U.S., is the first “Indiana” film not di...

Jill Biden touts efforts to bring better internet to Alaska Native villages

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:23:44 GMT

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — For years, when the tiny Alaska Native village of Rampart’s awful internet service would go down, the only way to reach the outside world was to await the small airplane that touched down daily with supplies and the occasional visitor.“We had no way of getting ahold of anybody out of Rampart other than going to the airport and telling the pilot,” said tribal administrator Margaret Moses. The pilot would relay messages — including word of medical emergencies — after flying 100 miles (161 kilometers) to Fairbanks.The Koyukon Athabascan village of about 50 people eventually upgraded to a satellite company, at a hefty price of $3,000 a month. It’s one of scores of Alaska Native villages where spotty and expensive internet coverage is the norm — if it’s available at all. And such service can be the only lifeline for remote communities, many of which can be reached only by boat or plane. Now, efforts to address inequities in a longstanding digita...